Name: Homemade Chili Seasoning
Prep time: 10 min
Total time: 10 min
Ingredients: 1/2 cup chili powder (We like this dark chili powder.); 1/3 cup ground cumin; 2 Tbsp coconut sugar; 1.5 Tbsp onion powder; 1.5 Tbsp garlic powder; 1 Tbsp cayenne pepper; 1 Tbsp paprika (We use this smoked paprika.); 2 tsp turmeric; 2 tsp salt; 2 tsp ground black pepper; 1 tsp cinnamon

Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

This homemade chili seasoning is going to be a new staple in your spice cabinet. It’s simple, requiring only 11 common spices + less than 10 minutes to make. It’s perfect for making chili, obviously, but also adds great flavor to things like popcorn, tofu scramble, and ALL the winter soups!

Admittedly, I’ve never been a real chili aficionado, but T certainly is.

He’s made a kickass chili for years (and even won an award or two!). If I’ve learned anything from T, it’s that the spices in a chili are really what make it great (or…not so great).

But, when I was making his recipe a few weeks ago to re-take some old photos for the blog, I realized something: While chili is a pretty simple dish to make, all this measuring and opening spice bottles to get that perfect flavor is time-consuming AF. We totally need to make a chili seasoning mix!

That way, we can make chili all winter long and not have to bother with all the hustle and bustle of opening and measuring a million different spices to get that perfect home-style flavor.

This homemade chili seasoning is simple, requiring only 11 common spices + less than 10 min. It’s perfect for chili, popcorn, tofu scramble, and soups! #vegan #veganrecipe #chili #spicemix #seasoning // plantpowercouple.com

What’s in chili seasoning?

This homemade chili seasoning is comprised of 11 common spices, most (if not all) of which you probably have in your cabinet right now:

Chili Powder: The key ingredient in any chili recipe. We like using this dark chili powder, but feel free to use whatever you have.
Ground Cumin: This adds terrific savory flavor, almost beefy.
Coconut Sugar: To add a touch of sweet! We like using coconut sugar rather than brown sugar in this spice mix because it doesn’t clump as easily and still provides a great flavor.
Onion + Garlic Powder: These are the cornerstone ingredients in almost every spice mix in the history of spice mixes!
Cayenne Pepper: Skip this ingredient if you’re not into spicy. Double it if you’re REALLY into spicy. 😉
Paprika: You can use smoked paprika or regular paprika, but I have a bit of a love affair with the smoked version. You cannot beat that warm smokey flavor!
Turmeric: This adds great flavor, color, and immense health benefits to the chili seasoning. We’re big fans of turmeric in this house.
Cinnamon: This may sound weird to some people, but cinnamon is a key “secret” ingredient in any good chili recipe! Just a little bit adds such a complexity of flavor; the difference will blow you away!
Salt + Pepper: To bring it all together!

All you have to do is throw these ingredients in a blender or food processor and pulse a few times ‘til everything is well-combined and powder-y.

That’s IT! The hardest part (for me, at least) is putting all the bottles away!

How to Use Chili Seasoning

Obviously, my main goal in creating this recipe was to make chili-making as easy as possible, but I also love the idea of chili-fying ALL the things.

Popcorn? Genius. Tofu scramble? YES. Chili-spiced Croutons? I’m ALLLLLL over it!

Other Spice Mix Recipes:

When you make this chili seasoning, we would love to hear how it went and all the delicious ways you used it!

Rate the recipe and leave a comment below or tag us in your chili-rific photos on Instagram. If you’re not already following along, we’re @theplantpowercouple with the “the”.

And if you want to be sure you never miss a Plant Power Couple recipe, don’t forget to sign up for our email list!

Enjoy this one, friends. I hope it adds as much simplicity and deliciousness to your life as it has to ours!